Following on from the success of the 2021 Neglected Musicals presentation Cameron Mitchell will direct and choreograph Nice Work If You Can Get It, a new take on classic 1920s musical farce.
The tale of Jimmy Winter, a wealthy and carefree playboy living the good life in the midst of Prohibition. Jimmy has an unfortunate habit of marrying chorus girls, until he’s forced to marry a woman of substance – Eileen Evergreen, the finest interpreter of modern dance in the world. On the weekend of their nuptials, Jimmy meets Billie Bendix, a tough-as-nails bootlegger who has inadvertently stashed 400 cases of gin in Jimmy’s basement. Knocked out by this one-of-a-kind woman, Jimmy must deal with his high-strung fiancée and an assortment of bootleggers, prohibitionists, G-Men and chorus girls, as well as one very moralistic senator.
This show is such a joy, a true musical comedy, said Cameron Mitchell. The Gershwin score is so wonderful and the arrangements are reason to do the show alone. It’s a great story. So many great characters, the audience will fall in love with them all.
“It’s been a big year of Gershwin for me, said Ashleigh Rubenach who will play the tough-as-nails bootlegger Billie Bendix in Nice Work If You Can Get It. Coming straight off An American in Paris it’s such a thrill to jump into another Gershwin musical, Gershwin is unbeatable. Timeless, classic, genius.”
“I am so thrilled to be part of bringing the wonderful music of the Gershwin brothers to life,” said Grace Driscoll who will play Eileen Evergreen, the finest interpreter of modern dance in the world. “What I love most about this era of music is its timelessness; the sweeping, memorable melodies and of course the sheer lyrical wit make it obvious why Gershwin’s work comprises so much of the Great American Songbook. It feels nostalgic but at the same time fresh and I can’t wait to sing all those wonderful songs audiences already know and love. Oh, and have a barrel of fun while doing so!”
“Music from Broadways Golden Era is done less and less these days, so I’m excited that a show like Nice Work If You Can Get It, can be fully realised in 2022,” said Rob Mallett who will return to his role of Jimmy Winter.
“This is a hilarious new screwball comedy,” said producer Michelle Guthrie. “Poking fun at the Prohibition era in a clash of elegant socialites and bootleggers, all set to the glorious songs of George and Ira Gershwin: who can ask for anything more?”
Nice Work If You Can Get It was a smash hit on Broadway in 2012 and is based on the very early Gershwin Classics Oh Kay, Girl Crazy and others.
Where: Hayes Theatre Co
When: From 18 November 2022
Tickets: www.hayestheatre.com.au or phone 02 8065 7337
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